Developments in European information issues: Networks and relays – Services – Products, October 2000

New Look for What's New

The What's New feature on the Europa server now offers a quick link to the individual What's New pages of the various EU institutions and agencies. Keeping up to date with developments will be faster and easier. The Commission's What's New page can now also be consulted by subject. http://europa.eu.int/geninfo/whatsnew.htm

Merger Cases - new website

The Directorate General for Competition has a new website for merger cases at http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/mergers/cases/ which offers considerable improvements in the information made available. Merger decisions can be traced by case number, company name, NACE code or notification date. Merger cases are now mounted on the site when they have been notified. The provisional deadline given is calculated according to the timescale laid out in the relevant legislation. When the public notice has been announced in the Official Journal, the information is also made available on the site. Press releases are also made available here once a decision has been adopted and announced by the Commission. When the full case details are loaded, it should be noted that only publicly available information is provided after agreement has been reached with the companies about the editing of commercially sensitive information.

When cases have been identified from the case number, company name or date lists and the details displayed, the NACE codes act as hyperlinks to related cases. For the full text where available, links to pdf files or CELEX are provided. In the past the full text of earlier cases was removed after approximately a year. However the text of many of the earlier cases dating back to 1990 is now mounted, although for some it is only in the original language of the case. Background information on which types of decisions are published in which format is available on the site.

Instead of identifying cases from the various lists, it may be faster to use the search facility to search the text of the published decisions. The truncation symbol * is supported. “First aid” or extended help is offered to construct a successful search strategy.

The site also provides definitions, information on the publication process, a list of NACE codes, and statistical data. A table shows the number of cases notified each year from 1990 to date, the numbers withdrawn, kinds of decisions made, eg the number of decisions where a fine has been imposed, and the relevant articles of the treaties.

Update of Hello Europe CD-ROM

The multimedia CD-ROM from the Information Unit of the Directorate General for Education and Culture, Hello Europe: a youth guide to Europe and the European Union (ISBN 92 828 9902 0 or Catalogue no. NC-27-00-912-EN-Z), has now been updated. Originally produced in 1998, material has been added and updated to reflect current developments in such areas as enlargement and the present IGC. Aimed particularly at young people it presents a range of basic information on living, working, studying and travelling in Europe, the history and politics of Europe and how the EU works. It uses photographs, video clips and interactive features to make the factual information visually attractive. The post-Amsterdam decision-making process, for example, can be followed in an interactive session. Hyperlinks, a search facility, glossary, maps and phrase book together with a notepad and bookmarks function contribute to the package. Disappointingly the statistics in the main relate to 1996. Otherwise the manuscript revision date is July 2000.

The CD-ROM is free and available in all official languages. Copies should be available from the Commission Representation in all member states. European Documentation Centres have also been supplied with a limited number of copies for distribution.

Europa usage continues to grow

Consultation of the Europa website continues to increase at a great rate. A web page at http://europa.eu.int/abouteuropa/index_en.htm provides key data on the site including statistical information, frequently asked questions and results of user surveys. The average number of hits per day in August 2000 - far from the busiest month of the year - reached over 3.7 million compared with 1.9 million in August 1999. This no doubt reflects the increasing trend towards electronic dissemination of documents via the website. At the last count Europa made available more than 1.5 million documents, excluding the contents of databases. Little wonder therefore that it often seems agonisingly slow in retrieving information. The usability of electronic versions of large documents such as the Schengen acquis is also questionable. Published in the Official Journal L239 of 22 September 2000 the Schengen acquis amounts to 472 pages and has been made available as a pdf file from Eur-Lex, weighing in at almost 7mb. A fast modem and connection is required to download that size of file in an acceptable time. Even if it subsequently becomes available as a moe manageable HTML file it will still be fairly unwieldy.

New databases for importers

The Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union has created two useful new tools for business with their databases for importers. TARIC (Integrated Community Tariff) and ECICS (European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances) are both free as part of the Directorate General's Data Dissemination System and can be found at http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/databases/database.htm/. Up to now ECICS has only been available as a two volume printed publication, or as part of the EINECS-Plus CD-ROM co-published by the Office for Official Publications and Silver Platter at a stand-alone single user subscription of £957. TARIC has been offered both in print and as a CD-ROM (70 euro), but the database format should improve currency and flexibility. ECICS can be searched by chemical name or by a variety of different codes. Altogether it lists some 35,400 chemical names and is regularly updated. For truncation use the% symbol, while the underline character can be used as a wild card representing any letter.

The TARIC database search screen enables users to browse the codes or ask for a description of a specific code. Users can also find out the duty rates for a specific code and country, or any restrictions in force for a country and code. The relevant legislation details are provided. By setting a “simulation date”, it is possible to check what the situation would have been at a date other than the default setting of the current date. When browsing, if no data is entered the TARIC code table of contents will be shown. Entering an incomplete code will take you to that level in the headings. However when searching for duty rates or restrictions pertaining to a particular country, the full 10 digits must be entered, even where this simply means adding zeros to achieve the required number.

These two new databases join the existing Quotas and Ceilings database already available on the same website. It keeps track of the tariff quotas and ceilings managed by DG Taxation and Customs Union, displays the balances relating to the current and past year and shows the date when a tariff quota or ceiling limit is reached. The data is updated every working day evening.

The other set of data provided by DG Taxation and Customs Union is the Binding Tariff Information system which plays a key role in the application of the Common Customs Tariff process. It is currently available from EUR-OP sales agents as a CD-ROM costing 300 euro and contains full descriptions of goods, their tariff classification, information on the relevant member state's customs administration which issued the classification, dates of validity and a thesaurus of Keywordsto facilitate searching. It is expected that this data will also be made available on the web shortly.

In addition to ECICS the EINECS-Plus CD-ROM also includes the latest version of the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances; the European List of Notified Chemical Substances; and the list of dangerous substances whose labelling is prescribed by EC legislation; the European Cosmetics Inventory; and the relevant consolidated legislation. For more information on the EINECS-Plus CD-ROM contact:

SilverPlatter Information
Health and Safety Publishing
Tel: 0800 262096
Fax: +44 (0) 208 585 6640
Email: hspublishing@silverplatter.com

URL: http://www.hspublishing.com/

CORDIS redesigns FP5 web service

CORDIS has redesigned its Fifth Framework Programme web service with a view to improving downloading times and making the navigation and search facilities simpler and more effective. The restructuring will also prepare for the addition of new material as FP5 continues to be implemented. The site brings together all the relevant documents required to participate in the Programme, the latest version of the evaluation manual and a questions area where requests for information are posted with the answers. Under the overall umbrella a specific site is now devoted to the legal and financial issues relating to the research management process. Tailored services have also been further developed to offer, for example, a two-way communication channel between potential partners under the expressions of interest service. Visit the site at http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/ to explore the changes.